CHOW! FALL 2009
Sweet Talk
I
n the 2000 film Chocolat, Juliette Binoche soothes
the pain of the residents of a provincial French town
with a single magic potion: chocolate, the movie’s
namesake. And while the current worldwide economic
recession presents a different set of problems than the
1950s conformity and heavy-handed demagoguery of
the film, eating one’s way to happiness still sounds like
a tempting quick-fix cure for depression … both the
emotional and economic varieties.
With a disheartening 12.5 percent unemployment
rate in Lane County, more than three full percentage
points higher than the national average, belts are tight-
ening across the Southern Willamette Valley, and extras
like sweets seem like a natural place to start trimming
the fat. But if the thought of foregoing dessert due to a
limited budget makes you want to toss your cookies,
some local sugar-slingers are taking steps to ensure their
customers can have their cake and eat it, too.
Adam Bernstein, proprietor of eateries Café Maroc
and Adam’s Sustainable Table, recently changed the
name and menu of the latter from Adam’s Place, a mea-
sure to reflect not only sustainability of the environmen-
tal sort but a nod toward finances as well. “I think people
tend to share more desserts” these days, says Bernstein.
“We have a chocolate volcano, a shared dessert,”
Bernstein says. Ordering a dessert, even a shared one,
makes “people feel like they’re getting a bonus,” he
explains.
If even half a chocolate volcano is beyond the bud-
get, Amy Brown, manager of the Candy Baron at Fifth
Street Public Market, may have the solution. Brown
equates the shop’s à la carte shopping experience with a
way to save a few coins, asserting that her customers
AARON RAGAN-FORE
“are appreciative of the fact we carry individual can-
dies, and can buy just a couple of pieces” as a pick-me-
up. All the same, Brown says, “We’ve definitely had a
[sales] drop at the beginning of the year.”
Michael Phinney, owner of the Palace Bakery on
Pearl Street, keeps his pricing competitive. “You can
buy a freshly made pastry from me for about half of
what it would cost if you went down the street to a fine
dining restaurant,” he says. Phinney describes the cook-
ies, scones and truffles his shop offers as “a fairly
affordable luxury.”
And are Palace Bakery customers guiltily lining up
at the register, muttering that a flaky croissant is an
indulgence they really shouldn’t buy? “I hear ‘This is
something I shouldn’t eat,’” Phinney says. “Generally
their comments are more about waistlines, not pocket-
books.”
“Our sales are doing better almost weekly,” Phinney
adds.
Christina Jessie, bakery sales manager at the flagship
Market of Choice location at 29th and Willamette,
reports a similar trend. “We’ve seen sales stay steady,”
even amidst the recession, she says. “People’s buying
patterns have stayed the same.”
Paradoxically, Jessie’s bakery cuts costs by way of a
commitment to quality. “We’re really fortunate in that
we do so much from scratch,” she explains, citing the
increased cost of pre-made baking mixes.
The overhead costs for a bakery can be considerable.
“We do use better quality ingredients, and we try to buy
locally,” says Jessie.
The Palace Bakery, meanwhile, doggedly refuses to
budge on some particular cash outflows, such as provid-
TODD COOPER
STRETCHING YOUR DOUGH ON DESSERTS BY
ing health insurance for full-time employees. Michael
Phinney allows it’s painful to note when customers stop
coming into his establishment due to job loss, the fate of
a few of his regulars.
All the same, most Eugeneans seem intent on stick-
ing with their preferred comfort foods, through boom or
bust. “If they liked pie before, they’re going to stick
with pie,” says Jessie. “They’ve adjusted to maybe buy-
ing a slice.”
Jessie says the Market of Choice ambience itself can
be a balm for worry-afflicted souls. “It’s kind of nice to
come into the store, get a nice cup of coffee and a des-
sert, and take a moment for yourself,” she says.
Phinney has a Palace Bakery recommendation for
folks auditioning potential comfort foods to help them
through tough times. “We have a cinnamon bread pud-
ding with fruit of the day that’s about as comforting as
we can get,” he reports.
And does Phinney himself indulge in sweets, as a
way of beating the blues? No, as it turns out: “In stress,
I lose my appetite.” ■
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